Heritage Falls #071128

(see other files for the Dundas Valley Conservation Area and the Hamilton to Brantford Rail Trail)

Parks on this route:

Warren Park (start)

Tally Ho Drive, Dundas.

Warren Park is a natural area with a walkway.

Sanctuary Park

27 Sanctuary Drive, Dundas.

Sanctuary Park is a neighbourhood park with 2 soccer fields, play equipment, parking, washrooms, and a sloping walkway. The Hamilton Brantford Rail Trail has a trail head here.

Rail Trail notes:

Seven nodes or small parks along the trail: West Hamilton, Sanctuary Park, Dundas Valley, Binkley Road, Old Highway 52, Field Road in Jerseyville, and Brantford Jaycees Trailhead and Parking Area.

Travels from west Hamilton through the middle of the Dundas Valley Carolinian forests, then through rural landscapes to Brantford. Connections to Dundas Valley trails. Biking, hiking, walking, wheelchair and horseback access.

Hermitage Cascade

Creek: Sulphur Creek

Classification: Cascade

Height: 4 metres/13 feet

Width: 5 metres/17 feet

Cultural History:

In 1853, George Gordon Browne Leith bought the Hermitage property. The Hermitage mansion was built in 1855 as a summer home. George Leith died of a congested lung on January 2nd, 1887. During that summer, Alexander Leith, his son, and his wife Mary moved into The Hermitage with Mrs. George Leith. In 1902, Alma Dick-Lauder bought The Hermitage from other surviving members of the family for $5,500. Unfortunately, the home was completely destroyed by fire on October 10, 1934 and was eventually sold out of the family. Only ruins of a once majestic manor exist today, but it takes little imagination to consider what they must have looked like in their heyday. The Hamilton Conservation Authority purchased a portion of the estate in 1972.

There is a romantic story about Colonel Ives’ coachman, William Black, who was also employed to teach Mrs. Ives’ niece how to speak English. William fell in love with the niece and asked for permission to marry her, but the Colonel haughtily refused. Next morning, when the coachman did not appear with the carriage, Colonel Ives went to the stable to investigate and found William Black’s body dangling from the rafters. In those days, a suicide could not be buried in consecrated ground, therefore, according to tradition; William was buried in the corner where Lover’s Lane joined Sulphur Springs Road. Thus, Lover’s Lane got its name. Travelers passing this spot late at night claim that they have heard a sad moaning as if William was mourning his lost love.

At only 4 metres this diminutive hidden treasure is one of the smaller waterfalls in the area, but still worth the trip to see, especially in the spring thaw, or after a heavy rain. To find the waterfall, park in the first parking lot at the Gatehouse (before the Hermitage Ruins) and walk back toward the entranceway. The waterfall is located east of the driveway.

Hike:

Inward route follows the Spring Creek Trail from Warren park to the Trail Centre.

Loop to the Hermitage and Hermitage Cascade back to the Trail Centre.

Rail Trail back to Sanctuary Park and Warren Park.